PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Dozens of free school lunches distributed last week ended up having "Stay Well" booklets produced by the Church of Scientology.
The Pinellas County School District said the distribution happened May 6 when a group of volunteers was helping pack and give out lunches while schools are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The district said parents complained on social media and the distribution was immediately stopped.
A spokesperson for the school district said a volunteer admitted to putting the booklets in the lunches, which the district says violates the religious activities policy. The volunteer agreed to not do it again.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the Church of Scientology, which sent a statement and a letter addressed to a reporter at the Tampa Bay Times, which first reported on the incident. The letter also copied Clearwater City Attorney Pam Akin and police Chief Dan Slaughter.
Church spokesperson Ben Shaw called the incident "a simple mistake by a volunteer trying to help."
The church said the booklets are part of its "Stay Well" campaign, which includes guidance on health and safety during the pandemic. The church's International Dissemination and Distribution Center had 5 million "Stay Well" booklets printed, which Shaw said are now being offered to reopening businesses.
In Clearwater and Tampa, Shaw said more than 100,000 booklets have been distributed in various places.
Shaw said the May 6 incident happened when a volunteer who ministers with the church and was "familiar with the booklet distribution program...confused the different volunteer activities and, in their exuberance, thought the booklets would be helpful to the families receiving the food distribution at home."
According to the church, 86 booklets were put in lunches before the volunteer was stopped.
"It was not the authorized Church distribution plan and the volunteer was corrected," Shaw wrote. "We are sorry if anyone was offended."
"There is nothing about the Scientology religion in our Stay Well booklets, but they do include a link to our Stay Well Prevention Resource Center," Shaw said in the letter.
The only mention of the church is "Courtesy of Church of Scientology International" on the back cover of the booklets.
Shaw said the church has not had any cases of COVID-19 at any of its churches or headquarters around the world.
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